SBIR Phase I: A New Paradigm for Skill Development- A Training Platform Integrating Problem Solving and Mobile Programming to Create Peer-Led Skill Training for High School Student

这个SBIR第一阶段项目创建了一个在线综合培训计划，将解决问题和应用程序开发相结合。学员将能够创建移动应用程序来解决他们自己社区面临的挑战。移动应用已经成为解决许多痛点的关键。目前，熟练的开发人员与客户一起了解问题并创建应用程序来解决问题。不幸的是，这将应用程序的创建限制在那些能够访问开发资源并了解解决问题技术的人。该项目创建的平台将通过向高中生提供解决问题和开发应用程序的技能，使应用程序开发民主化。因此，它为每个公民提供了一个创建应用程序的机会，这些应用程序可以解决他们自己或社区面临的挑战。这一机会可以产生变革性的影响，特别是对那些很少获得资源的贫困社区。手机应用开发也是一项具有巨大创收潜力的技能。培训结束后，学员将获得解决问题和生成应用程序的能力认证。拥有解决问题和应用程序开发技能的证书的高中生将成为未来工作队伍中非常有价值的员工。该项目创建了一个拖放工具，允许任何人创建智能手机应用程序，以及一个在线门户网站，解释如何使用该平台。应用程序创建工具将允许用户(1)为多个操作系统开发智能手机应用程序；(2)在移动设备上对应用进行实时测试；(3)下载已完成的app至个人设备；(4)将他们的应用发布到他们选择的应用商店。该在线学习平台将提供多媒体教学内容，并使全国用户能够在该平台上构建移动应用程序。到2020年，全球移动用户预计将达到57亿人，但预计只有极少数用户能够对这些设备进行编程。因此，这个项目希望构建一个工具，通过拖放界面降低构建移动智能手机应用程序的障碍，并教育用户如何使用这个工具。

This SBIR Phase I project creates an online integrated training program that combines problem solving and app development. Trainees will be able to create mobile apps to address challenges facing their own communities. Mobile apps have become key to addressing many pain points. Currently, skilled developers work with customers to understand problems and create applications to solve problems. Unfortunately, this restricts app creation to those that have access to development resources and understand problem solving techniques. The platform created in this project will democratize access to app development by giving problem solving and app development skills to high school students. Thus, it presents an opportunity to every citizen to create apps that can address their own or their community's challenges. This opportunity can have a transformational impact particularly on underprivileged communities where people have very little access to resources. Mobile app development is also a skill that has the potential for significant income generation opportunity. At the end of the training, students will be certified for their problem solving and app generation skill ability. High school students who have certification to prove their problem solving and App Development skills become highly valued employees in the work force of the future.This project creates a drag-and-drop tool that allows anyone to be able to create smartphone applications, as well as an online portal that explains how to use the platform. The app creation tool will allow users to (1) develop a smartphone app for multiple operating systems; (2) live test their apps on their mobile devices; (3) download their completed apps onto their personal devices; and (4) publish their apps to the app store of their choosing. The online learning platform will deliver multimedia content to teach and enable users across the country to be able to build mobile applications on this platform. The world's mobile population is expected to reach 5.7 billion people by 2020, yet only a very small number of these users are expected to be able program these devices. Thus, this project looks to build a tool that lowers the barrier to building mobile smartphone apps via a drag-and-drop interface, as well as educate users on how to use this tool.